learning objects and DITA - some starting points for discussion

[john_hunt@us.ibm.com]

To DITA learning content SC -

To help kick off our review of structured
designs for learning and how to apply DITA principles and best practices,
here's a starting list of links. 

Feel free to add comments, more links,
and other thoughts. Thanks to Erik Hennum for providing some of these links.

For our meeting this Thursday, I'll
pull together an overview presentation, which I'll get out by sometime
tomorrow. In the meantime, the links under 1, 2, and 3 below provide good
starting points.

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1) John Hunt and Bob Bernard articles
on a DITA specialization design and content pilot.
My starting point on this topic, published
last summer, on IBM developerWorks.

        http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-dita9a/
        http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-dita9b/

2) CISCO Systems Reusable Object Strategy
One of the seminal white papers on reusable
learning objects from CISCO. Identifies five core content types - Concept,
Fact, Procedure, Process, Principle - and combines them with Overview,
Summary, Practice, Assessment as the basis for an RLO - reusable learning
object. 

        http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/ibs/solutions/learning/whitepapers/el_cisco_rio.pdf

3) Reusable Learning Objects- What does
the future hold? by Peder Jacobsen (LTI Newsline, 2001)
Provides a readable overview of RLOs
and XML-based technologies. 

        http://www.ltimagazine.com/ltimagazine/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=5043

4) Thinking XML: Learning Objects Metadata
by Uche Obguji (developerWorks, 2003)
A very useful summary of the SCORM-standard
Learning Object Metadata (LOM), how to represent it with XML, and connection
to RDF.

        http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-think21.html

5) Course Generation Based on HTN Planning
by Carsten Ullrich
A technically dense, but very interesting
approach to applying hierarchical task analysis to planning and describing
learning objects, and how to apply to different learning needs and goals.

        http://www.activemath.org/publications/Ullrich-CourseGenerationHTN-ABIS-2005.pdf

Suggests a general approach for describing
the structure of learning "tasks" as a "structured sequence
of learning objects that help the learner to understand the content goal."
An HTN for teaching a concept includes content to introduce, develop, practice,
connect, and reflect.

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John
___________________________________
John Hunt
IBM DITA Learning Architect
WPLC/Education Development | IBM Software
Group
john_hunt@us.ibm.com